


Human Interaction

by YumiTDOK



Category: King's Quest (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Triumph the gerbil, Triumph's POV, achaka is alive, king graham - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-17 03:13:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8128165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumiTDOK/pseuds/YumiTDOK
Summary: There's no one better to talk about the king's life than his trusted and beloved pet. A oneshot on Triumph the Third's POV, in which he explains in his rodent mind what he thinks of human behavior and the relationships of his owner, Graham.





	

I remember that back at our old home, Graham used to smell like his sisters. There were to many for me to count, and they almost never stood still. We also had many other friends, including  a couple of jinxes, beetles, were-hogs, and a tiny chimera.    
  
So, basically, my master smelled like a bunch of other pets and his human associates, and they all smelled like him too. I gotta say, sometimes I lost him in that house, and believe it or not, when he was a kid he was even _more_ agitated, so imagine all the hard work I had to put thought to take care of that kid. Let me tell you, taking care of a human wasn't easy,  they seemed to attract danger. What was it, did it smelled them too?   
  
I did enjoyed the nights we would spend at his old bed, with him reading up all those adventure books and picturing up what we would face the next day until I drifted off to sleep. I knew what that meant so I made sure to have a good night the night before, otherwise, who would be his knightly steed? The _chimera?_. That chimera was trouble, always stealing socks. Graham's mother threatened to get rid of it twice, I remember. 

We had gone into more adventures that I can actually remember. All the dangers we had faced, paths we have traveled. My master was really into this, even though he sometimes wasn't quite ready for the challenges, but he always found a way to pull it off. Back in the days with was just me, him,  an used match and some fur of a cat, in case it would be useful. 

When it was just us on the road, it was easier for me to spot him. Graham smelled like.... Well, like _Graham_ , I suppose. It had a hint of adventure, youth, chocochip pancakes and syrup. Following him was a sweet trail, but it wasn't always easy. The flowers could get in the way, and I also need to check up the news with the squirrels. That, or he would fall into a hole or down a cliff, maybe both. I was going to find him again, eventually, I always did, one way or another. I am Triumph the Third and I shall honor my name.   
  
It was into one of those journeys we end up moving to somewhere else. People smelled different here, but they seemed nice. I sensed hazelnuts,  lavender and pies most of the time. It was there I met Princess Madeline of Avalon. A princess! I never had met royalty before! Neither Avalon, but still.  

Now, life at the castle was pretty great. They didn't let me eat by the table, but by plate was always full with some juicy turkey leg, the perfect meal for a gerbil. Also, my bed and cushions were pretty soft too, perfect for my afternoon naps. Sometimes in my dreams, I could remember back home, the smell of his sisters and that garden that would get all muddy when it rains, and we could play in the puddles. The sphinxs hated to get dirty, but we would chase them anyway, and his mother would be yelling later that we all were smelling like a big pile of mud, and she would rub us all with some stinking soap over the bathtub until we were clean again.   
  
I missed the old gang sometimes, but this place isn't so bad. No, it has a nice touch, actually. I like the fountains we have at the garden, it makes water more fresh to drink. It has plenty of place to explore too, so I could be off to my own adventures when Graham was off to finish off his duties, wherever they are and for how long it took.   
  
I think it began when he started wearing that shiny thing over his head instead of that cloth with a feather, it made humans notice him way more. It was like a peacock showing his tail, they just wouldn't leave him be! I could smell his stress, why couldn't he just take it off? I think the other guy who was wearing it died or something. Humans were just weird, I never quite got their behavior.   
  
In one of his duties days, I noticed he took more time than usually to return. He said I could stay, so I guess he was going out but not really on an adventure, or he would have more enthusiasm on his look. He had that same look back home, when him and his sisters had to go and return with some big piles of tasteless paper. I would be sad too if I had to fetch something I couldn't eat.   
  
It was past bedtime when he returned, my ears peaked as I could heard the cracking door. I stud up and jumped down the bed, approaching him after he made sure he had locked up his bedroom.   
  
"Triumph! I'm back, old pal" He said, kneeling down to greet me.  
  
What's that smell? I sniffed again. This one was different. I had felt it before, but not quite that strong in him. It had a musky touch, with a bit of mint, perhaps? I could feel it on his hands as he petted me, and surely that was also some on his mouth... I surely sensed it a while ago, I just couldn't recall when. I did had my fair share of scents over my days.   
  
"Hey. Missed me, buddy?" He asked me, giving away a soft smile and scratching my head.  
  
_"Where were you?"_ I asked him with curiosity, in gerbil language of course, making it come out as a squeak.  
  
"Sorry I took so long, I, ehm... It's a bit late, let's go to bed, how about it?" He seemed odd. Totally smelled like it, too. But he was fine, so I dropped it. Like I said, humans are weird and you can't always tell what they're doing, you can try to find out but they won't tell you anyway. And if I wanted to join into another adventure, I should take his advice and hop on to bed, and so I did, even thought he didn't answered my question.   
  


 On the next mourning, I had a nice steak for breakfast while we had to listen those marching colored sock men talk on an on as usual before they went off one by one. I didn't get half of the things they were talking about and I think neither did Graham, but he listened to it, anyway. I sat on my cushion, dreaming about eating more delicious meat when I noticed someone coming down the hall.  
  
It was another man covered in hard cloth like the others, but I think he was dressing up different. Honestly I can only see in gray so he was kind of _more gray_ than the other _gray_ people, but something else I noticed was his smell, it had some mint, a touch of musky-- Oh, wait a minute.  

Hopping out of my spot, I started sniffing with curiosity towards him, moving slowly and also making sure that person wasn't a threat. He was carrying a big weapon, and if the adventures I had taught me anything, I had to be cautious always.  
  
The armored man seemed to look at me, his face angling down before he slightly crouched, allowing me to sniff his hand.  
  
"Ub akka pli Graham, gehbillu?" He asked me, but I was too busy catching on his scent. We have meet before, if I'm recalled, but never quite introduced. Sniffing up close I could actually smell Graham on his fingers, and instantly considered him not an enemy. Were they related somehow? No, he was from somewhere far from anywhere around here.   
  
_"So you're a friend?"_ I asked him, but he only chuckled over my squeak, standing up again. Clearly he didn't speak gerbil.   
  
"Achaka?! You're here?! Hm... Hey! I-- hm-- didn't expect you to come by so soon!" Graham seemed uneasy, yet happy. Like when he was about to ask his mom to keep another pet and was waiting for her reaction, taking a few steps down to the throne. I watched them two, tilting my head to the left, trying to understand what they were doing.   
  
"Kibbhali arhnag gu?" Questioned the man, making me tilt my head to the other side. Otherwise from his family, no one I meet had smelled like Graham like that. Is this some sort of human bond? 

"No, actually you just stopped by on my free time, I have a few minutes before Larry and Kyle ask me what we're doing for Talking Pumpkin Day..." My master said, scratching behind his head a little too much. Fleas, maybe. They're terrible. "But, hm, last night, it was... _something_ , right?"  
  
They eventually keep on into the conversation for quite a while, but I stopped listening as I thought. Human behavior was still something to be studied, but I was getting the hang of it. Or, as I was thinking while I hopped onto my cushion and snuggled against it, I was figuring a couple of things out about them, and maybe, humans aren't that different from us after all. 

Having a human relationship was quite similar from a rodents'...

... It was all about rubbing scents. 


End file.
